Enabling Circular Economies and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Greenlee Research Group

Environmental Electrochemistry & Resource Recovery

Welcome. Our group works on problems of societal importance at the nexus of water, food, and energy. We are focused on enabling global sustainability through circular economy approaches to waste valorization and through the advancement of technologies that address climate change through GHG mitigation, decarbonization of energy sources, and net-zero production of platform chemicals and materials.

Research Program Overview

We tackle science and engineering questions with expertise in water chemistry, electrochemistry, nanomaterials, and characterization tools. Our research activities include laboratory and field studies on water and wastewater treatment, biomass valorization, critical minerals recovery, nutrient recycling, and electrocatalytic processes. We invite you to explore our current research projects and think about how you look to solve the world’s problems.

Water

How can water sustainability be enabled through engineering technology, waste valorization, and an understanding of resource cycles? What are the implications for water resources as we move to new energy and waste valorization technologies?

Food

What are the water and energy challenges for food production, and how can we use engineering to support a resilient food supply? How can interdisciplinary collaborations with the agriculture community guide our engineering research?

Energy

What are the implications of decarbonization and GHG mitigation technologies for energy supply and energy efficiency? How can we use materials and system design to achieve energy efficiency?

Contact the Group:

Lauren Greenlee

Associate Professor

Department of Chemical Engineering

Institutes of Energy and the Environment

Consortium for Integrated Energy Systems

The Pennsylvania State University

greenlee@psu.edu

121 Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building, University Park, PA 16802

610-507-6390